Emeka Okafor and the stress fracture in his spasming back would be on the UConn bench in a white shirt and tie. Okafor, who reported improvement, would be listed as day-to-day. But his day would not be this night at the Garden.

Notre Dame had its chance.

Beat UConn in the Big East quarterfinals last night at the Garden and make the NCAA selection committee think long and hard about inviting a seventh conference team to its tournament.

One problem: Jim Calhoun challenged his Huskies to show the world they could play without Okafor.

“I told each one of ’em we’re more than just Emeka Okafor,” Calhoun said.

Indeed they were.

So, with 35.5 seconds left, the UConn cheering section, on its way to a 66-58 victory, serenaded the Irish with “N-I-T! N-I-T!”

Coach Mike Brey made one last case for his 18-12 Irish.

“I think we played arguably the toughest non-league schedule in the league,” Brey said. “We’ve played the toughest league schedule in the league. We’re 7-3 in our last 10 games and three games were against these guys and we won one of them.

“But,” Brey added, “I’m realistic. I talked to our guys about both tournaments in the locker room, to be mentally prepared, and we’d be honored to play in either one of them.”

You could have sworn the Huskies were the ones playing for their NCAA tournament lives as they built a 37-24 lead late in the first half. Irish star Chris Thomas (7-for-21 shooting, 1-for-10 from downtown South Bend) was a non-factor in the first half (four points) thanks to Taliek Brown’s suffocating defense.

In the second half, Thomas, who would finish with 19 points, hit a 13-foot jumper, then a 15-footer, then a pair of free throws. Chris Quinn drained a pair of treys and screamed with emotion. Calhoun, clinging to a 41-40 lead all of a sudden, called time.

UConn never surrendered the lead.

One big reason was Ben Gordon (29 points), who hit a layup that made it 61-56 with 1:32 left and a triple that made it 64-56 with 46.1 seconds remaining.

“I was a little worried about that as soon as I heard Okafor wouldn’t play,” Brey said. “It would be more of a license to go for Ben Gordon.”

Two other big reasons were freshman towers Josh Boone (tournament freshman-record 16 rebounds) and Charlie Villanueva (13 rebounds, 16 points), who helped UConn to a 53-32 advantage on the boards.

“Our two freshman just dominated the backboards,” Calhoun said.

“I just tried to play inside more and do the things Emeka Okafor does,” Villanueva said.

No one in college basketball does Okafor things. UConn will need him next week.

“There’s no doubt in my mind I’ll be ready for the NCAAs,” Okafor said.